Toledo City, Cebu
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo City Police Station is now on its recruitment phase for its Community against Criminality Terrorism and Violence program, otherwise known as the ‘Human CCTV’ program wherein the community is encouraged to relay any situational reports from their respective areas to the police.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Junnel Caadlawon, chief of Toledo City Police Station, said that they are yet to launch this program as their initiative in their anti-criminality campaign. He added that even though Closed-Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) play a crucial part in their case investigation, yet these seem reactive because they get to know the culprits once they review the recorded footage.
Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) director, supported this as he said CCTVs are for crime solution while the ‘Human CCTV’ initiative of Toledo police is more on crime prevention.
Caadlawon explained that with the ‘Human CCTV’ initiative, police are able to respond to a certain incident close to real-time. They are not only focusing on the crime incidents but also in their monitoring for the presence of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in their area.
“Dili nato i-lower atoang guard considering nga ang atoang pikas isla is known man gyud (with NPA presence) which is ang Negros.'” Caadlawon said.
(We will not be lowering our guard considering that our adjacent island in Negros is known for the presence of NPA rebels.)
READ: Not taking any chances: Cebu police monitoring any signs of NPA presence
He added that they will be utilizing social media such as Facebook, recruit respondents or those who will feed situational reports, and secure their confidentiality. For now, he said they will be targeting establishments in Toledo City and enlist their trusted personnel.
He further said that there are no specific qualifications in their recruitment since they are encouraging the community to participate.
However, he said that the recruits will still be thoroughly assessed. He also encourages them to report accordingly and not abuse the platform.
Caadlawon added that the platform used will be monitored 24 hours by their tactical operation center.
Soriano, for his part, said that he supported this initiative but he clarified that this does not mean that the work of the police will now be bestowed on the community.
The police will still ensure the safety and protection of their respective areas while coordinating their efforts with the community.
The ‘Human CCTV’ initiative will be one of the community-based programs of the Philippine National Police together with the Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terorismo. /rcg
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